Chapter 207:
The contestants' area was spacious, with plenty of distance between participants, so releasing one's Pokémon there was perfectly acceptable.
Since following Hayashi Kaede, Serperior had rarely, if ever, spent much time inside a Poké Ball. Now that it wanted to come out, Hayashi Kaede naturally wouldn't force it to stay inside. Thus, alongside Alolan Vulpix, a Serperior nearly three meters tall now stood proudly at his side, gazing down at the battles below.
This startled the nearby contestants who had just begun focusing on the matches.
Wait, another Pokémon? And now a Serperior? Please don't tell me this Serperior is also under one year old? Are you even trying to hide your strength at all?
From the spectator stands, Kaito raised an eyebrow.
For a Junior Cup like this, it was rare for an Elite Four member to attend unless it was their hometown. He had come only because he had heard about a Speed Boost Blaziken that had reached Gym Leader-level in just five months old. He wanted to see how a young Trainer, just starting his journey, could raise a Blaziken to such a level.
But now, seeing this… wasn't this Trainer supposed to specialize in Fire-types? The quality of this Serperior was something even he had hardly ever seen.
"This is strange… Goodra, Alolan Vulpix, Blaziken, and now a Serperior. Such a mixed team, with type advantages and disadvantages against one another—how did he raise them all to this standard?"
Kaito was shocked. Generally speaking, Dragon-types were weak to Ice, Fire was strong against Ice, Dragon was strong against Fire, Fire was strong against Grass, and Grass was weak to both Ice and Fire. Managing the balance in such a team was already impressive. But this young man had raised each of his Pokémon exceptionally well.
This isn't good…
Seeing Serperior appear, Kaito frowned. This meant the likelihood of Hayashi Kaede choosing Blaziken for his matches had decreased again. He couldn't exactly force him to use it, could he?
Should I just ask him for information after the matches?
The thoughts wrestled in his mind, but eventually he decided to focus on the ongoing battles.
"Do you want to go up?" Hayashi Kaede asked Serperior beside him.
"Serperior…" came the cool reply.
Hayashi Kaede smiled. Sure enough, once outside, Serperior reverted to its usual "admire from afar" demeanor. But he nodded—it just wanted to be out, not confined to the Poké Ball, even if they were Luxury Balls now.
The matches had reached Numbers 45 vs. 46. His turn wasn't far off.
For the first round, no one knew their opponent's number beforehand. This prevented contestants from looking up battle videos during the waiting period. But for Hayashi Kaede, that wasn't a problem.
He was even considering… should he aim for the championship?
After all, his original reason for coming was simply to investigate Apricot Mountain and bring a few Pokémon out for a change of scenery. Salamence, for instance, had improved considerably—it no longer turned hostile to people at random as it once did. He also wanted to watch Takagi Megumi's battles.
But then… after a trip to the store, little Vulpix had started clamoring for battles. What could he do? He had to indulge it.
In the end, Hayashi Kaede left the decision up to Vulpix.
"Little one, do you want to win the championship?"
"Vulpix?"
Alolan Vulpix turned away from the battle it was watching, licked Hayashi Kaede's face, and said seriously: "Vulpix!" (No!)
"Huh?"
Hayashi Kaede blinked. "No? Why?"
"Vulpix!" (Because I'm the Vulpix Hero!)
Alolan Vulpix declared proudly.
"Vulpix!" (True heroes never leave their names!)
Hayashi Kaede: "…"
What a strange quirk. He didn't get it.
But honestly, if he put himself in the shoes of anime creators, he could understand. Anime thrived on suspense and anticipation. They often created characters who hid their identities, like certain famous anime from his previous world.
Detective Conan never revealed his identity, despite all the illogical maneuvers, and the anime team still managed to wrap things up neatly. Or Ultraman, who transformed into "Light Sawman," always revealed his identity only in the final episode. Following that pattern, Detective Conan would probably only reveal his identity at the very end.
Looking at Alolan Vulpix, he said, "Then do you know why the Pikachu Hero never reveals his name after defeating the evil Pikachu every time?"
"Vulpix?"
Alolan Vulpix froze, confused. It had never considered that question.
Hayashi Kaede continued, "Like in that Pikachu Thunder God anime you watch? The protagonist is clearly the one defeating the bad Pikachu every time. But afterward, when everyone criticizes him for disappearing, why doesn't he reveal his identity?"
Alolan Vulpix shook its head. That was indeed how the anime went. Every time the protagonist was misunderstood, it made Vulpix anxious.
"Little one… from the protagonist's perspective, his idea is probably to leave after the deed is done, hiding his contributions, not wanting people to know what he did and worship him."
"Vulpix…" (Mhmm…)
Alolan Vulpix nodded. That was indeed what the Pikachu Hero had said.
"But actually, there are many other reasons."
"Vulpix?"
Vulpix's curiosity grew.
Hayashi Kaede smiled. "It's simple, little one. Besides protecting the town, the Pikachu Hero also has loved ones he wants to protect, and they live in the town too. If he told them he was the hero, wouldn't they worry every time he went to fight the evil Pikachu? It's dangerous. That's why he willingly hides his identity each time."
"Vulpix!" (Is that how it is!?)
Alolan Vulpix's eyes widened. The puzzle in its heart was solved.
"It's a possibility," Hayashi Kaede said, not fully confirming his explanation.
But honestly, whether to leave a name or not ultimately depended on the anime creators' intent. Maybe they just wanted to create some anxious plot points?
What Hayashi Kaede didn't notice was that his words made Jirachi, listening quietly beside him, fall into deep thought…